I've found someone who has the entire collection of disks from USUS,
the UCSD Pascal User Group, and he's cheerfully coaxed his Linux
box's disk parameters into reading the 800K 5 1/4 Pinnacle Systems
disks he had. I hope to decipher the .SVOL "disk volume in a file"
method they were stored in, and post them to my web page soon.
He also mentioned he has source code on 8 inch disks from an
Ohio Scientific, Inc. machine. He thought hed have more trouble
finding a way to read those because of its scheme of using an
6820 parallel port controller and a 6850 serial port controller
to access floppies. Is that true? Should the normal scheme for
connecting a Shugart-y drive to an old AT-era WD controller
work to read these old disks?
- John
>I've found someone who has the entire collection of disks from USUS,
>the UCSD Pascal User Group, and he's cheerfully coaxed his Linux
>box's disk parameters into reading the 800K 5 1/4 Pinnacle Systems
>disks he had. I hope to decipher the .SVOL "disk volume in a file"
>method they were stored in, and post them to my web page soon.
Cool. I *highly* recommend that someone, somewhere, store the raw
disk images for future use. If someone wants to "pull files" out of
the images, that's fine, but the exact image should be kept as the
"master reference".
>He also mentioned he has source code on 8 inch disks from an
>Ohio Scientific, Inc. machine. He thought hed have more trouble
>finding a way to read those because of its scheme of using an
>6820 parallel port controller and a 6850 serial port controller
>to access floppies. Is that true?
Yep. Serial data (I think async, with start and stop bits) goes
through a modulator and onto disk. Reverse the process to recover
data.
> Should the normal scheme for
>connecting a Shugart-y drive to an old AT-era WD controller
>work to read these old disks?
Nope, the format is *nothing* like IBM3740, which is all a standard
PC-clone FDC will do. (Admittedly, there are a lot of variants of
IBM3740 that a 765-type FDC *will* do.)
--
Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com
Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/
7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917
Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927
I'm trying to locate a couple of these computers and was
wondering if anywhere around there might know of someone
who might have a couple for sale. If not, sorry for the bother.
AL
Hi All --
There's a company in Baltimore looking for someone to haul away an
(Ultimate) Honeywell DPS-6. They've got the machine itself, four 500MB
(SMD?) drives, a 9-track, and several boxes of documentation. They're
moving out of their current space, so you'll have to move quickly. Let me
know if you're interested, and I'll put you in touch with them.
-- Brian
--
Brian Harrington
Digital Knowledge Center
The Johns Hopkins University
brian(a)sigh.mse.jhu.edu
Hi,
I am playing with the PDP11 emulator by Bob Supnik, and I have a running RSTS/E.
I just recently figgured out how to add new users..
I am still trying to figgure out how to send files to the "lineprinter"
and how to punch files
Can anyone help with experince of this OS?
Thanks.
ron.
> I bowled a lot in the 60s/70s, and always wondered how that worked.
If you throw strikes, you don't need the sparemaker ;-)
Steve (I only need one hand) Robertson - <steverob(a)hotoffice.com>
--- John B <dylanb(a)sympatico.ca> wrote:
I wrote:
> >I used to work there. I *can't* get the cool stuff out.
>
>
> You have to pay something for the equipment.. more than the scrappers.
No... I mean I _can't_ get it out. I would have to bid for *all* scrap from
a plant the size of 22 football fields. They are a large company with a
large company mentality: all or nothing. Rules are rules. etc, etc.
They don't part this stuff out by lots, they bid out all the work to one
company (whose name I've never been able to learn or I'd just go right to
them).
> Companies do not care about "rescuing".....
Very much true.
-ethan
=====
Infinet has been sold. The domain is going away in February.
Please send all replies to
erd(a)iname.com
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com
Just got a harddrive, external SCSI with card. I would like to hook this
up to my Apple IIGS. I have downloaded Apple IIGS OS 6.0.1 from the Apple
site. When I boot the computer with disk 1 of the OS, I get an error to
check startup devices. I get this even when I don't have the SCSI card in
the computer. The disks are formatted MAC, do they need to be formatted
ProDOS?, Apple IIGS specific, or?
thanks
Re:
> Okay... Before this degrades into a major thread of how badly AMF fubar'd
> Harley Davidson, I'm going to declare a winner as seen in the following:
>
> At 10:28 AM 10/26/1999 -0700, ss(a)allegro.com wrote:
> >
> >My guess:
> >
> > The "how to bowl this time" computer...the thing that determined
> > where to light up the "arrow" that suggested the best way to
> > make the spare.
I bowled a lot in the 60s/70s, and always wondered how that worked.
...
> computation was complete, the solution was relayed back to the smaller
> chassis (called the "ball path indicator") where it was latched for
> display, thus freeing up the main computer to service requests from other
> pinsetters.
pretty sophisticated!
> I thought I had a picture of one in operation, but I can't put my hands on
> it right at the moment, and it would take sometime to wire the computer up
> just for this occasion... So, perhaps later...
I'd argue this is a good chance to build an indoor bowling alley, to test it! :)
> And now... the identity of this outings infamous 'no prize' (if indeed the
> lucky winner wishes to claim it!) A slightly (ok, very) used, actual, for
> real, AMF Bowling Pin! To claim it, drop me a note (off list) with your
> address.
I'll claim it! I've always wanted one! Ironically, that's the closest I'll come to
bowling for awhile...my right (bowling) arm is in a sling for a couple of
weeks (shoulder separation).
Stan Sieler
Allegro Consultants, Inc.
20700 Valley Green Dr.
Cupertino, Ca 95014
Stan (typing one handed for awhile) Sieler sieler(a)allegro.com
http://www.allegro.com/onehand.html
please see embedded comments below.
Dick
-----Original Message-----
From: Tony Duell <ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Thursday, October 28, 1999 4:23 PM
Subject: Re: HELP! ( totally OT) - Hitachi Monitor problem
>> >Well, I know I don't have the service data for this one. And it's
>> >somewhat unusual for such problems ot be related ot the pincushion
>> >circuitry -- more often it's related to the hsync stuff -- the PLL (if
it
>> >uses one) isn't locking, something like that.
>> >
>> Having attempted to locate a source of service data for this beastie for
>> over four months, during which time it sat on the floor of my already
>> overcrowded computer room, where I, mobility-handicapped as I am, had to
>> step around it, I decided to look at the adjustments. This fault came
about
>> VERY gradually, having been noticeable during the warmup phase for a
couple
>> of years, but until more recently, when the duration of this problem grew
to
>> over half an hour, I figured that it might be in some way related to the
>> aging process.
>
>THis really does sound like a failing electrolytic capacitor. I've had
>them behave oddly when cold, or behave oddly when warm or...
>
>>
>> Like most CRT's it has several hundred electrolytic cap's, and I'm loath
to
>> remove them all so they can be tested, though it may come down to that.
I
>> bought this thing in late '93 and it was manufactured in '91, so I have
to
>> assume it's aged a bit.
>
>Somtimes you can check the ESR with the capacitor in-circuit. The main
>exception is when it's shunted by an inductor or another low DC
>resistance path IIRC.
>
>I don't own an ESR meter yet, but it's certainly on my list of things to
>get/build. From what I've heard they're a great time-saver for doing
repairs.
>
>> It's surprising that one can't easily order service documents for these
>> monitors, but I guess it's my inability to understand how business is
done
>> these days.
>
>Hey _I'm_ the one that flames about not being able to get service
>information for everything I own. Last time I ranted on about this you
>pointed out a number of good reasons why such information might not be
>available.
>
It's like getting the service manual for a car of the same vintage, except
that when a car is this old, it's just starting to cause little problems and
the third-party repair manuals are available everywhere. In the electronics
business, there have never been really decent repair manuals from 3rd
parties, except maybe for TV's, of which I've never had one break.
Unfortunately, as the prices of these commodities drop, the level of
expectation to which the vendors respond drops as well. These days, you can
get a really decent 20" monitor for $400 or less. When it breaks, it's
unlikely you'll get anyone to fix it for less than the price of a new one.
If you want a schematic of a 7-year-old TV set, I doubt it's readily
available either. I've never had a monitor repaired successfully by a
"professional" working at an "authorized" repair center. I sent in a very
nice NEC monitor which had some wierd malfunction in the power management
hardware which caused it to drop out at random times, then refuse to come on
again for weeks at a time. The service center couldn't fix that. The
monitor cost $879 new, and was still in warranty, as it turned out (they
give you a 2-year warranty and perform no outgoing inspection, apparently)
so when I phoned the NEC people, they sent me a new one via FedEx, and
really didn't demand even that I return the old one. I had a similar
experience with a DELL monitor with the same problem, except that the
monitor wasn't mine. The problem was the same, and the response was the
same. A new monitor over night, no demand for the original one. I guess
the shipping cost is too high to warrant repairing them.
>
>Although it's hard to imagine anything particularly clever/unusual in a
>standard colour monitor. Most monitors that I've worked on use pretty
>much standard circuitry.
>
That's what puzzles me about the color displays I have sitting about. There
aren't many that look even remotely similar beyond the most superficial
observation. Not one has a flyback transformer, and all the
current-generation multisync types use some encapsulated device about 4x6x1"
or so to effect the power management functions.
>
>More likely, the company is worried that you'll either hurt yourself or
>damage the unit if you have a go at fixing it. No, I'm not happy about
>this -- IMHO if I pull the cover and fiddle around then it's _my_
>responsibility if I do damage to the unit or to myself. And I'm more
>likely to do such damage _without_ a service manual (people who know me
>know full well that the lack of a service manual is not a reason for me
>not to dive into something). But trying to explain this to the company is
>generally a waste of time.
>
In view of the fact they don't want the broken/defective ones back, that
must be their logic.
>-tony
>
